Checkmate
by HatterLifeStyle
Summary: "You've been in the same spot for the last three days. Did you really think I hadn't noticed you, your majesty?" she didn't look at him, she didn't even stop walking but he took it as a sign to accompany her.
1. Chapter 1

The king of Edolas was leaning against one of the walls of the royal palace, in one of the darker spots in the hall that led to the council room. He'd been there a while already and had let his eyes close and his mind wander. It had already been two weeks since the disappearance of all magic from the world and the council had only been functioning for the last eight days; eight grueling days where he was forced to lock himself in a room with all the most influential figures in the kingdom to sort out the mess revolving around the disappearance of magic. The mere thought of another day spent that way was borderline depressing and he wondered for a brief moment whether a fake fever would be enough to get him out of it. One day couldn't hurt could it? He forcibly shook that thought from his head. He had a responsibility to fulfill. He heard footsteps approaching and opened his eyes.

Erza Knightwalker was still sporting her injuries from her mysterious battle with an unknown entity, some of which appeared painful enough to make lesser men, or women for that matter, refrain from moving at all but no one had seen her so much as wince over the last two weeks.

He watched her make her way to the council room at a pace that he was sure she considered torturously slow, he remembered that when he had still lived in Edolas she was one to take everything with a quick pace. That battle she had must have been quite spectacular to make her slow down like that. However nothing could stop her from taking measured steps towards her destination. He had realized recently that she was always in the council room before anyone else and had taken to waiting for her to make her appearance while leaning against one of the darker spots of the halls. As she passed him she finally spoke up.

"You've been in the same spot for the last three days. Did you really think I hadn't noticed you, your majesty?" she didn't look at him, she didn't even stop walking but he took it as a sign to accompany her. He smiled with practiced ease and fell in step with her.

"Of course not." He thought the idea was almost laughable. "I was just wondering how long it would take for you to _acknowledge_ me." He clasped his hands behind his back.

"Hmm." She said nothing else as they kept walking. Neither did he. The spot where he had been waiting wasn't far from the council room and they quickly reached their destination, even with Erza's slow pace. He held the door open for her and she brushed past him, albeit somewhat haughtily. He smirked at her attitude: always so stubborn, so proud. He closed the door behind them and made his way to the middle of the room where she had positioned herself. She stood stock still and despite how much it amused him he tried not to make a sound, she was obviously analyzing every little detail in the room and trying to make sure that nothing was out of place.

"So this is what you do every day before the rest of the council gets here…" Typical, always on high alert, her eyes were darting all over the room, it looked like merely the quickest glance but he knew that it was done with great precision. "Do you want to check under the table and each of the chairs for explosives while you're at it?" he laughed as he pulled up his chair and then propped his feet up on one of the councilmen's chairs. She sent him a glare.

"It's thanks to people like me that people like you can sleep at night." He put his hands up in front of him to placate her but the grin he sent her seemed only to further annoy her. "And besides, you shouldn't put your feet there, your majesty. That's councilman Bethal's chair." He shrugged.

"Don't particularly like him anyway." He said with a grin as he cradled the back of his head with his linked hands. She almost smiled at that. Almost, he could tell. He said nothing for a while and she obviously had no interest in breaking the silence herself.

"You know this is the first time we're alone with each other in seven years. I was expecting a little bit more enthusiasm. I'm hurt Erza." He pressed one of his hands to his heart in feigned physical pain. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Shut up, Jellal." He smirked. Finally, at least she was addressing him by his given name again. She was drumming her fingers nervously on the polished surface of the table and appeared to be debating something. Finally she seemed to make up her mind and proceeded to peer under the table. He couldn't stop the laugh that escaped him.

"I can't believe it! You're actually checking?" This girl… she appeared to be almost frustrated with herself and she was looking at him daring him to say anything else. King or no king, he decided it wouldn't be wise to push her buttons anymore for a while. She proceeded to check the chairs one by one. Just as she was checking councilman Darion's chair she cried out and collapsed, only managing to somewhat stay up because she grabbed onto the table. He jumped from his position, hurried towards her and placed his palms on her shoulders helping her up.

"Erza?" she groaned an answer he couldn't quite make out but knowing Erzas he figured it was probably along the lines of an 'I'm perfectly fine.' Tch. Stubborn girl. He placed her in his chair and sat down on her right.

"Whoever it was you fought with, they sure did a number on you." She gave no answer, her eyes were still clenched shut but he was pretty sure it was more out of frustration and wounded pride than any physical pain she might be feeling. "I hope you won't hold a grudge against Erza Scarlet." Her head jerked up to face him, she looked completely baffled and the expression looked extremely foreign on her face.

"How did you know?"

"There's only one person I can think of who could land so much as a single hit on you… and besides, the glares you two were sending each other were a bit of a giveaway as well." He propped his elbow up on the table. "So? How'd she end up?"

"Same as me… a bit better maybe." It was difficult for her to admit, he was surprised she admitted it at all.

"So… she won?" he was pretty sure she'd punch his lights out for that one but he was curious. She said nothing for a moment.

"Are there such things as winning or losing? We're both the same Erza." He smiled.

"I see you got to talk a bit before she was sucked out of Edolas."

"Yeah…" She seemed to be deep in thought and he hoped that whatever it was they said to each other, it would be enough to get the Erza seated in front of him to see things a bit differently; a bit more like when they had been children together.

"Back then, when we saw each other for the first time… Would you really have used your blade against me, Erza?" It had been gnawing at the back of his mind since it happened and he almost stumbled over the words as they escaped him. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then finally spoke.

"If the king had ordered it, I would have wanted to. I don't know if I'd have actually been able to go through with it though." The look she gave him was almost apologetic. He nodded slowly. Now that he had asked the question despite himself he found that there were other things he wanted to know. What had his father done? How could he have turned Erza, a person who had once been so kind despite the military training she had been submitted to since a young age, into the person he had seen that day two weeks ago?

"You hurt Lily, your comrade." He had desperately wanted to keep it from sounding like an accusation but he felt like he had somewhat failed.

"I do regret it, though you might not believe me." She went to the window in the room and tilted her head up to look at the sky. He briefly wondered as he watched her whether she was fighting back tears.

"I do believe you." He whispered.

Their conversation slowed to a halt as they each sank into their own thoughts. He could hear voices from the courtroom; orders being shouted as well as requests for help. The sounds of court hadn't changed much during his absence.

"Do you think there'll ever be even the slightest possibility to see them again?" He was surprised that she would so much as hint at a desire to reunite with them; that the fairy hunter would want to see a fairy again, it was unheard of. She turned to face him and he thought that her eyes might be shining a bit more brightly than before but he couldn't be sure. He remembered the room that controlled the anima and smiled.

"I don't know, but I hope so." He remembered the smiling faces of the guild members and the lively atmosphere and hoped for it to be true. "If ever there were a chance I'd go without hesitating. I suppose that now that I'm back you're reinstated as my personal guard so you'd have to accompany me on such an excursion." He grinned at her and for the first time since he had come back to Edolas she smiled back and he once again saw the girl who had been his most trusted friend in that smile.

She walked away from the window and sat down again. He was certain that she took the royal seat on purpose; she had dethroned him countless times when they were children and apparently that aspect of their relationship remained unchanged. He knew that this time it was up to her to say something and he could see the gears in her head working as she carefully picked her words. Ah, Erza, ever the tactician.

"Seven years… Seven years I've been beating myself up for failing you, for letting you slip away from me." He kept quiet; he knew it was just the beginning even though he wasn't sure where she was getting to with this. His jaw clenched as he prepared himself for when she'd lash out at him. "Welcome back." And just like that his jaw dropped. He hadn't been expecting that. She wasn't smiling but her face was completely honest. Yes, Erza Knightwalker was a born tactician: with just two words she had managed to knock him completely off balance. So much so that he could think of absolutely nothing to say. He must have looked especially ridiculous because she laughed, and it wasn't cold or bitter, it was carefree and it just destabilized him even further. She nudged his shoulder and he just started laughing with her. He wasn't sure how long they laughed together but eventually they settled down. She got off the chair he was supposed to be occupying and nudged him into it. She then took her place a few seats away. He arched an eyebrow and was about to question her when the door opened and the rest of the council filed in.

The drone of voices from the council members quickly died down as they noticed the two presences in the room. They all hurriedly bowed at the king and acknowledged the general, it was clumsily done with much tripping and stumbling and Jellal noticed the smirk on Erza's face as she watched them make fools of themselves. Eventually they all managed to make it to their respective seats however by then he had already zoned out again.

"Your majesty, may the council begin?" he was startled once again by that. All eyes were on him, including Erza's which came with a complimentary scolding look.

"Of course." One of the council members stood.

"You're majesty I'd like to address the issue of-" but he decided to cut him off there. These meetings were so boring he decided to at least spice it up a bit.

"So sorry, councilman. I swear I have no idea where my head is today." He chuckled and all the councilmen followed suit. It was funny how desperate they were to win his favor at the moment; few were the ones who kept quiet. Erza sent him a questioning glare. "You see gentlemen, there's an issue I'd like to address before we begin." He paused and let the information sink in. Whispers broke out over the table as they all began speculating over what it could be. He stood and they all fell silent again. "As you all know, up until seven years ago I lived in this palace. My father, the king, appointed me a- a body guard, so to say. Someone my own age but who was well versed in the arts of combat." He looked at each of the people seated at the table in turn; all of them looked puzzled except for Erza who seemed to be catching on. He waited for someone to break the silence. Council Darion was the brave man who spoke.

"Your majesty…?"

"I'm speaking of General Knightwalker, of course." He signaled her with a sweep of his outstretched palm and all heads whipped towards her in a matter of seconds but she paid them no heed and kept her eyes on him demanding he get to whatever point he was trying to lead up to. "Now that I have returned I believe it's time she was officially reinstated as my personal guard." There was a collective intake of breath as each of the councilmen prepared to input their own opinions but he beat them to the punch. "I'm assuming none of you have anything to say?" His tone was just icy enough to leave no room for arguments and he smirked as they all deflated at once.

"Well then, now that that's settled, I believe that it is customary for the king's guard to sit on his right. Councilman Bethal, if you please." He motioned for the man to switch places with Erza, he seemed utterly displeased but he obviously didn't dare question him. He took his chair and carried it with him to his new spot at the table. "Oh and councilman, help the general with her chair, after all she is a lady of court as well as a general of the army, it's common courtesy." At that both Erza and Bethal sent him dirty looks but he just gave them an innocent look in return. Once they were both settled he let the councilmen gossip for a while as he expected a scolding from his reinstated guard and friend.

"What are you doing!" she hissed as she settled into her seat.

"This is official court business, Erza. I'm sure you agree that it's an important matter that deserves to be addressed at this meeting." Stay calm, you did nothing wrong. He repeated those words in his head like a mantra hoping that an innocent act would dissuade her from further pursuing the issue. She said nothing but during the rest of the meeting he could feel that they would be having a serious conversation as soon as they were alone once again. As the council drew to its end he went against his basic instincts of survival and dismissed the rest of the council.

"Gentlemen, if you would please leave us, there are still some issues that need to be discussed between myself and general Knightwalker." The men filed out without saying much, just a quick bow before departing. Of course some of the younger ones who had known Jellal as a child had gotten a bit bolder and Sugarboy wasn't beyond sending him a suggestive glance which was quickly quelled and replaced with a nervous look once he saw the glare on his king's face. Jellal finally closed the door behind them and turned towards the only other person left in the council room.

"You shouldn't anger the council members needlessly, Jellal. You know it's important that they all support you now that your claim to the throne has yet to be at its strongest." She was right of course but he was confident in his decision. "Councilman Bethal didn't look pleased at all that you sent him away from the king's right hand side, the fact that he was replaced by someone who is not only fourty years his younger but also the only woman on the council must have hardened the blow as well." His whole body stiffened. Those men infuriated him.

"Councilman Bethal is no longer powerful among these men yet he still flaunts the fact that he has a seat in this room like a crown! I have no need of people like that to help me run this kingdom. If ever there were a need for actual leaders you'd be worth ten of him and I'm glad he knows of my opinion!" This was quite possibly the first time he'd ever raised his voice in front of her and she was too shocked to say a word. She watched him toss the glasses that had been placed on the table for the councilmen to the floor in his sudden fit of rage. He calmed down as soon as he heard the satisfying sound of shattered glass on the floor and he finished talking between pants. "He's not the only one of course. I'm going to morph this council into a group that can actually take charge during times of turmoil instead of hiding away when needed most!"

He walked up to her, she hadn't moved from her seat during his whole tirade. He stretched his hand out to her and settled it on her shoulder. He squeezed ever so gently so as not to cause her pain from her injuries and kneeled down in front of her so that they were at eye level. "Help me with this, Erza. Please." He begged.

For a moment she just stared at him. His outburst had been completely unexpected but the way he quieted down instantly to beg her for help with such a monumental task would make most people's head spin. She considered the words he had just spoken… If that was what Jellal had planned for Edolas then maybe Erza Scarlet had been right, maybe they could survive without magic. She placed her own hand over his.

"Of course." She smirked. "You'd probably screw it up without me." He grinned back.

_AN:/ Well, there you have it, the first Edolas fic. Hope you guys like it. Oh and, I don't own Fairy Tail. I always forget to put the disclaimer in these things…*shakes head*_


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't until a few weeks after that fateful council meeting, on a particularly stormy day that Erza thought to question Jellal on his decision. She had been reading a book in a seldom used chamber in the west wing of the palace when the thought struck her as suddenly as the lightning outside

Naming her the king's personal guard… it was unexpected and rash, that much she had been aware of all along, the councilmen would have each suggested many others, their sons probably. Choosing a woman, no matter how proficient she might be in combat could bring forth much criticism but that didn't bother her in the slightest, she was used to going against the norms of the kingdom, what worried her was something else.

She placed her book down on the table and took a moment to collect her thoughts, then lifted herself from the floor and left the abandoned chamber, heading for the king's study.

The halls of the palace were strangely deserted although it was probably mostly due to how dim the lighting was in the halls. The now useless light lacrima served as nothing more than decoration and the palace's servants still hadn't gotten the hang of tending to the candles which were now the sole means of lighting the halls. The idea was not appealing to her at all, dark corridors were the assassin's best friend and she felt certain that not everyone in the kingdom had warmed to the idea of Jellal being the new king. The fact that he had yet to be formally crowned only served to intensify her weariness.

She didn't bother knocking once she reached her destination. The elegant doors that stood before her were pushed open with little effort and she let herself in with the calculated, powerful steps. Jellal was seated at his desk, the smooth mahogany barely visible under all the papers that were strewn across its surface. Jellal, pen in hand, was restlessly running his fingers over and over through his hair while reading what appeared to be some kind of report from the treasury. He was reading out in a low voice so that he seemed to be muttering under his breath and every now and then he would cross something out or jot something down on another paper on his desk. It wasn't until she was standing right in front of the desk that he took his eyes off the papers in front of him.

"Hey." He rubbed his eyes and sighed making the candlelight flicker as the flame was disturbed. He looked remarkably tired and she hesitated for the tiniest moment, she knew that this conversation would quite possibly drain him of most of his remaining energy, but she pressed on anyways, feeling she had the right to know.

"Tell me why." She decided that going straight to the point would probably be best in this case. He blinked tiredly and tried to make sense of the question.

"Why what?" he rubbed his eyes again and the room was briefly illuminated by a streak of lightning.

"Why name me your personal guard, Jellal?" She spread her palms on the desk, the papers rustling as she leaned closer towards him. "It's not the same thing being personal guard to a prince than to a king! You of all people should know that!" She was vaguely aware that she was possibly being a bit too harsh but now that she had realized what exactly had happened in that room that day she felt an intense need to understand his way of thinking. The fact that she had taken so long in coming to such a simple and yet important conclusion just made her all the more eager to know.

Jellal didn't answer at first. He stood and took his time sorting the papers he had been working on and sat down again. She didn't wait for any invitation and took the seat across from him. When he finally faced her his face was dead serious.

"Don't treat me as if I didn't know Edolas's laws, Erza." He took a deep breath and continued. "In fact, as of late it feels like reading and editing Edolas's laws is how I spend the vast majority of my time." He gestured to all the papers that were scattered across his desk or littering the floor. "But tell me," he asked folding his hands in front of him and watching her intensely. "why so concerned all of a sudden?" She knew that look he was giving her. It was highly disturbing to most of the members of the council who seemed to shrink at its intensity. It didn't work on her though.

"Do you have any idea how much power you've placed in my hands? You've practically handed your whole army over to me. All your coercive power is at my command, Jellal!" She waited to discern any kind of reaction on his part but he remained disconcertingly calm.

"I trust you. Isn't that enough reason for me to grant you the title?" he asked, still with that intense look on his face accompanied by a tiny smile, it was completely disarming and she said nothing. He spoke up again.

"I think the question here is whether you trust yourself, Erza." He said gently. "I know you're the right person for the job." She frowned, what right did he have to mess with her head, to speak of what she felt or thought? Still, she could not bring herself to deny it. She looked up at him again, his smile had grown sad.

"What happened to you, Erza? When we were young it never would have crossed your mind to doubt the good in your own heart. Now it feels like it's the only thing I ever see you do." He got up and went to the window where the rain had gotten even worse and was steadily pounding the window. Neither one of them said anything as a flash of lighting once again lit up the room and a long peel of thunder followed.

"I've done lots of things since then, things that put that good in question." She finally spoke up. He moved from the window to her side and looked her in the eye.

"Your actions were the orders of a cruel and deranged king." He whispered. "He is paying for those sins; you shouldn't have to do so too." She shook her head, jaw clenched.

"No, I could have put an end to it. I could have rebelled against his orders. I knew they were wrong but the fear and despair of watching Edolas inch closer to chaos stopped me. I was a coward, fear and weakness gnawed at my heart until it turned to stone. I killed members of Fairy Tail without remorse and wounded Panther Lily, my own nakama, without so much as blinking an eye. They may have been Faust's orders but they are my sins." A look of relief washed over Jellal's face much to her astonishment. His smile softened.

"You're not heartless, if you were you wouldn't be telling me this. If all your actions were of no consequence to you, you wouldn't be here now questioning my decision to name you my personal guard." He gently tugged a lock of her hair like he used to when they where children.

"It was the right choice." He whispered. "And I'm sure mother would be more than pleased."

Erza flinched. She hadn't been expecting the pang of hurt that swept through her at the mention of the late queen; Jellal had though and swept her into a warm hug. And although under other circumstances she would have inflicted a painful punch or something along those lines, she found that just this once she could allow the liberty.

_AN:/ This one was pretty short, huh?Don't worry guys, the next one will (hopefully) be much longer. You'll understand their past a lot better after this._


	3. Chapter 3

_An:/ Sorry I haven't been able to reply to all your reviews guys but I have read all of them. I swear that now I'll concentrate on them a lot more. ;)_

Six year old Erza Knightwalker was sitting on a low wall in one of the less frequently used streets of Edolas. It was actually more like a corridor connecting the palace to the city than an actual street and was only used by nobles who desired to take a leisurely stroll outside the palace walls. She looked up at the sky; the sun would be setting soon, she noted. She was startled out of her thoughts when she saw the queen and prince walking towards the city, but it was a usual occurrence so she didn't even think twice about it. Both royals spent a great amount of time away from the palace since neither one of them was involved much in Edolas's politics.

The prince was the first to see her, he smiled and waved somewhat timidly and the queen smiled at her as well. She hurriedly bowed to them and they kept walking. The queen's age had always been a source of great surprise for Erza, she was very young. In fact, Erza was pretty sure that she was the same age as her brother had been which was why she couldn't understand how she had ended up married to the king who was quite possibly twice as old as she was. The prince was about her own age, perhaps a bit older, and was listening as his mother spoke in a soft voice. She knew them both to be very kind, the queen having insisted that she be allowed to stay in the palace and receive a pension after the death of her brother since she no longer had anyone to provide for her.

She watched them until they rounded a corner and left her field of vision. Now that the royals had left the courtyard she noted that it was strangely silent: there were no servants running by and the guards that should be posted nearby were also strangely absent as was their usual chatter. A sense of unease started creeping up on her. She went to one of the guarding posts where weapons were stored and picked two staffs out on a whim before setting off back to her usual spot while expertly twirling them and repeating some basic drills that she had long since mastered. The familiar mechanical movements lulled her mind until she was once again almost completely at ease but her calmness was quickly shattered when a sudden scream ripped through the air followed by a horrified cry.

"Mother!"

Feeling her blood run cold at the sound and knowing that it could be no one else other than the royals she ran towards the direction of the screams. Following the same path they had she found them near an exit to the town. The queen kneeling on the ground, holding a bloody wound on her chest with one hand while shielding her son with the other from the group of men that was advancing on them. The prince was holding his mother up, trying and failing to drag her back and away from them. The five men were still holding their weapons but had taken the time to laugh at their work.

"Get away from her, you bastards!" the prince shouted managing to look fierce despite his size.

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth, little prince?" One of the men asked laughing at the way the young prince gritted his teeth even as the tears welled in his eyes.

Erza swept into action, she ran towards the scene that was unfolding with one weapon in each hand. She sprang forth, swinging the weapon she had in her right hand as hard as she could towards the head of the man who had been standing farther back. A loud cracking sound could be heard and the man shouted as he crumpled to the floor. All eyes on the scene turned towards her. She kicked the man on the ground once for good measure and kept running.

Two identical pairs of green eyes were staring at her with amazement, but she turned away from them as she evaded a knife swipe from another one of the men. She dodged and swerved until eventually she had managed to get herself between the men and the people she was being trained to protect.

"Prince! Call the guards!"She said not daring to turn to face him so that she could keep each of her weapons trained on two of the men and always keep all four of them in her field of vision. She heard nothing for a moment, then a groan of pain from the queen and the prince's voice straining to be as loud as possible.

"Guards! Guards, help!" the men laughed once again.

"No point in that. We've taken care of them already." Erza noticed that it was only ever the one man who spoke. He was most likely the leader; in any case he looked to be older than the others. "Hey girlie, this has nothing to do with you, we don't want to hurt you so why don't you run along." He used his knife to signal towards the way she had come.

"No." she snarled. "Prince." She called to him again, turning quickly she tossed one of the two staffs at him. She turned back to the leader. She held her weapon out in front of her firmly with both hands and took confidence in that just as her brother had told her. Her voice came out much stronger thanks to that.

"These are the people who protected me when I needed it. These are the people I've sworn to protect. Handing them over to you would be no different than striking them down by my own hand!" The man sneered and took a step towards her; she shifted her weight, ready for his attack.

"Stop…" the queen spoke up for the first time since she had arrived, her voice was tense but it was easily heard. "Both of you get away from here. These men are dangerous."

"I'm not leaving you, mother!" the prince said clutching her to him and holding the weapon Erza had given to him in his other hand.

"Listen to me. You have to go." She said. "Please, I need both of you to do it for me."

The prince's eyes widened, a tear slipped away but he wiped it off his cheek and nodded. Both pairs of eyes turned to Erza who hesitated. She was supposed to protect both of them. The queen sensed her unease and quietly beckoned for her to go with her son. Erza grimaced, she knew that leaving the queen would most likely not end well but she couldn't say no to her. Instead she determinedly grabbed the prince's sleeve and jerked him to attention, signaling the path that led to the royal city: they'd have a greater chance of escape by mingling with the crowd. They started running and for a moment they heard no signs of pursuit from the men. Fearing what that silence might mean Erza turned around, the queen had slumped to the floor but the men didn't seem to have moved at all from their spots. They just watched her and the prince run with sadistic grins on their faces. She turned back around to see where exactly she was going and where the prince was and ran faster.

"Now?" she heard one of the men ask. There was no answer, they had almost made it to the end of the corridor and into Edolas. Just as they were reaching the open space of one of the city squares she could faintly make out the quiet answer.

"Now." The rumbling of many footsteps behind them echoed through the corridor and into her head for just a moment before they finally stepped free of the enclosed space. She grabbed onto the prince's arm to keep him close. They kept running while frantically searching around for a good escape route. Suddenly the prince pointed to one of the many streets leading away from the square and started tugging her towards it. A market had been set up along the narrow street so that walking through it was slow, tedious work. It would do, their smaller size would give them the advantage and they might be able to lose their pursuers without having any more confrontations with them.

"Let's go." He insisted as he pulled harder. They kept running despite the burning in their legs and the stabbing pain in their sides. The men were quickly catching up to them but as they entered the street and started weaving through the different stands and wagons scattered along it they managed to put some distance between them. They could hear the men threatening people to get out of the way and shoving tables and wagons aside. She heard a bunch of glass objects shatter on the floor and turned to see that one of the men had jumped onto the vendor's stands and was quickly gaining on them by running on the tables. He wasn't the leader who appeared to be much more dangerous than the others; he was rather scrawny but faster and much more agile and he carried a saber. The prince had also turned around to see what was happening. Erza caught his eye for a second and a quiet understanding was exchanged between them. The prince nodded grimly and they both raised the staffs they had still been carrying while moving closer to each other. They couldn't outrun this man now but both of them together could take him out for the count. They were both being trained in the noble art of combat and both of them had their instincts telling them the moment had come to fight.

The man was very close now, on a table only a few feet away from them. He jumped into the air with his sword raised; gravity would make sure that if he managed to land the hit it would be lethal. Erza heard the prince shift the staff in his hand, she didn't dare turn to see what he was doing but she felt the air pressure as the weapon sailed past her and struck the man in the arm, hitting a pressure point forcing him to involuntarily drop his weapon as he grunted in pain. She wasted no time in running towards the man who had landed on his feet on the ground but was clutching his arm which was surely numb and practically useless. It was her turn to jump into the air and land a force filled roundhouse kick aimed straight at his ear. Not only would that blow be mind-numbingly painful but he wouldn't even be able to walk in a straight line for the better part of an hour. The prince had already recovered his weapon and was beckoning her to hurry.

The other three men were still chasing them and were gaining on them as they kept on clearing through the obstacles that were separating them.

They kept running, always trying to stay in the most crowded streets of Edolas but the sun had almost completely set and the streets were slowly emptying as people went to their houses to eat and rest. Occasionally one of them would grab the other and drag them in a different direction until they eventually managed to shake off their pursuers. Erza was tired, they had been running longer than she could keep track but they didn't rest. Just when she was about to tell the prince to stop so that they could both take a break one of the men spotted them again so that they were forced to redouble their efforts.

They had run into one of the outskirts of the city where the more industrial activities took place; the only buildings she could see were big warehouses with crates scattered along the street waiting to be transported to the different parts of the kingdom in the morning. This part of the city was always abandoned after dark to the point where the silence that always seemed to linger around it became like an actual weight pressing down on them. Being at the border between the city and the desert that surrounded it from all sides the streets were peppered in ochre sand that made their shoes slide over the pavement. She stumbled as they turned a corner and she wondered how the prince was doing, throwing a quick glance his way as they both jumped over a low fence she saw that he looked beyond tired and she guessed that he was terrified both for themselves and for his mother. Looking up at the sky again she realized that someone must have gotten to the queen by now. The guards must have been dispatched to search for them, if they could just hold up for a bit longer…

She turned around to catch a glimpse at the man that had caught up to them. He was much larger than the last one; this would be trickier. She slowed down just a bit so that she was between the prince and the assassin. The fact that he wasn't carrying any visible weapon troubled her almost more than the previous man's blade. She didn't like not knowing what his attack would consist of.

A chill ran down her spine and she suddenly felt a thunderous blow hit her in the side and send her airborne. She tried to adjust herself in mid-air so that she could land on her feet but a wrenching pain where she had been hit prevented the movement. Her fall was softened by the prince who had somehow managed to catch her. He stumbled under the force with which her body had been thrown his way but managed to steady himself. He held her still for a moment before letting her go.

"What happened?" he asked. She saw him lift his hand suddenly and check it only to find it covered in blood. He checked her side and she heard a strangled gasp escape him. Her clothes had been shredded and the skin that was visible looked almost as if it had been whipped, it was bleeding, red and already appeared to be bruising. She clutched her side and hissed as she sat up.

"I-I think it was magic." She said turning to the man who was now walking up to them.

"Indeed," he spoke softly almost as if having a pleasant conversation. "Air magic, controlled by the ring on my finger." He held his right hand up and sure enough his middle finger carried a golden ring with the kanji for air on it. "I had been aiming for the royal brat over there, but you got in my way." He sighed as if very disappointed. "I guess I can correct that little blunder up though, no problem."

Erza growled in frustration. "We can't outrun him, prince." Using her staff to help her balance she pulled herself off the ground, she concentrated on the wound for a moment and managed to reduce the pain to a constant but bearable throbbing. "Pain is in the mind" how many times had her brother repeated that sentence to her? She'd never forget it; that was for sure.

"We can't fight him either." The prince muttered studying the man who had stopped walking and was observing them with crossed arms.

"That's right, children. You're as good as dead, not that there was ever any doubt about that." He lifted his right hand with the ring on it and held it out before him, aiming towards the prince while his other hand wrapped along his wrist. Erza felt the pressure around them gradually change and she just prayed that the prince could as well.

"Goodbye, you little bastard." The man muttered as a ball of highly pressurized air shot from his hand. The prince crouched down and jumped out of the way so that the only effect the magic had was to lift a large cloud of sand into the air. The man aimed again, the pressure changed and another ball was released. Once again the prince dodged. The man repeated the motions, this time aiming at Erza. She dodged as well, the balls were actually much slower than she thought. He tried again with her but failed. The man sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. The prince moved so that he stood beside her. They were both absolutely exhausted.

"I guess I'll have to sacrifice quality for speed." The man said. He stepped into the firing position again.

This time he'd barely finished the movement when the ball shot out. Neither one of them had time to react; it hit the prince in the chest. He cried out as the force threw him onto his back but he got back up almost instantly. The damage done by this attack had been far lesser than the one that had hit Erza, it covered a smaller area and hadn't carried nearly as much force with it as before but it was still painful and on top of that much faster. Already another ball shot out, this time towards Erza, she had no time to dodge so instead she blocked it with her forearm. These attacks were indeed much more manageable but if they were to take too many hits it wouldn't matter.

Another ball shot out, aimed towards the prince it missed, but only just. He was running towards her, he grabbed onto her arm and pulled her towards a pile of crates that had been stacked up by one of the warehouses they were near. Using it as cover they took a moment to lean against them as they tried to catch their breaths again.

"Are you alright?" he asked between pants as a sudden crash made the crates shake. The man was obviously too lazy to go after them. They had nowhere to run except out in the open and into his range so why not scare them a bit?

"I'm fine."She answered. Another crash. Her breathing was almost back to normal and she finally took some time to think up a strategy.

They had managed to lose the other two men in the city but the clouds of sand that had been lifted by the first few magic attacks would surely draw their attention to where they were and there was no way for her to know how long it would be before they got here. Of course, the sand could also attract the attention of the palace guards but when it came to speed the men had the advantage since they weren't carrying heavy armor. Another crash. And suddenly she realized what might be able to help them.

"Magic weapons have limited use because the lacrima that fuels them will eventually run out of magic power… A ring like that can't be able to maintain its power for too long and he's already used four or five strong shots." She saw the prince's face light up as he realized where she was getting to. Another crash, this one stronger, the man was obviously getting impatient.

"I don't think he knows that." The prince seemed somewhat relieved. "It'll probably come as a big surprise, he'll give himself away." The man was now constantly throwing attacks so strong that the wood was beginning to crack and give way, if the crates didn't withhold the attack they'd be forced to start dodging again and they needed to keep their strength to be able to fight the man when he no longer had his magic. However, there was nothing they could do and so they resorted to just staying still allowing their thoughts to wander just a little.

"You know," the prince began over all the noise of the man's magic. "I feel bad about this. I've seen you practicing in the palace courtyard all the time and I've even waved a few times, but it isn't until now that I stop to think that I don't know you. I don't even know your name." He gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry…"

"You can't be expected to know or remember everyone's names." She shrugged. "Besides, now that you've mentioned it, I only know you as the prince." She gave a little half smile and shrugged again. "So I guess we're even. My name is Erza."

"Jellal" Any other words that needed to be said were interrupted by a sudden silence. They both tensed up, waiting for any words to leave their attacker's mouth.

"What the-" Erza sent a quick glance towards Jellal, she could have sworn she saw the understanding flash in his eyes.

They jumped from behind the crates and ran towards the man who had taken off his ring and was inspecting it. Seeing them come at him he dropped the object to the floor and blocked Jellal's punch that had been aimed at his face. Erza managed to hit him in the neck with her weapon while Jellal pummeled him in the stomach with his. The man kicked Jellal in the chest where he had been hit by the air attack forcing him back. However, he had lost sight of Erza who applied a back-handed slash with the staff to the back of his knees, forcing them to buckle and throw him off balance just as Jellal got back into the fight applying another slash to the man's face, whipping his head back. Erza finished the fight with a blow to the pressure point in the man's neck that knocked him out cold.

The pain in her side was coming back and she didn't know how much longer she'd be able to ignore it. Jellal was also crouched over clutching his chest where he had been injured. She fell to the ground from exhaustion and he kneeled beside her. She heard footsteps once again and prayed for it to be the guards but the absence of the sound of armor clanking made her doubt it.

"Jellal, you have to go." She muttered. "I can't help you anymore." She hissed as the pain swept through her once again.

"Don't be stupid! I can help you…" They heard shouts and saw that it was the last two men. The leader was running towards them with the scrawniest of all the men following behind him. She tried to get up once again but couldn't muster the energy for it.

"I'm supposed to protect you, not the other way around!" she shouted. "Let me do what I'm supposed to do." He stayed still. She guessed that he was probably remembering leaving his mother like this only an hour or so before. "Go!" she shouted. She didn't know where exactly he would go though; the only way he could go was the desert which was dangerous enough under normal circumstances, which didn't usually involve being pursued by some hit men who for one reason or another were hell bent on killing him.

"Erza…" he pleaded.

"Go, I'll be fine." Her face was set defiantly and she was leaving no room for argument. Prince or no Prince she wouldn't let him prevent her from doing her duty. His expression slowly changed as he gradually yielded to her will, his face mirrored hers as he backed up a few paces before running off.

"I'm sorry." where the last words she heard him say. She saw him run off and she could tell that he was very tired, he had slowed down considerably since the ordeal had started and he stumbled every now and then. She turned away from him as he started climbing the first of the desert's dunes and turned to see that the men had almost reached her.

The leader passed by her without as much as a glance; he was too far away for her to do anything. The second man however passed right beside her and she shot her hand out to grab his ankle. He crashed to the ground like a ton of bricks and cried out. The leader turned around to see what was going on. Using the last of her strength she moved and placed the younger man in a choke hold. The leader didn't even bother trying to help him and instead set off after Jellal. The young man was obviously not accustomed to fighting as he quickly succumbed to the lack of oxygen without managing to release her hold on him.

That was it; she literally couldn't move a muscle anymore. As the last of her energy left her and she began to drift out of consciousness her mind began to wander. She couldn't do anything for Jellal anymore and she found that she was genuinely worried for him. It was strange how after going through this whole ordeal together and fighting those men she felt a sort of camaraderie with the prince that was more than just her sense of duty. She truly hoped that he would be alright…

_AN:/ The longest chapter yet for this story and also the hardest. Sorry it took so long guys but it was just really hard to get this into a rhythm that I liked while still keeping all the important elements of the story. I've already started the second part so it should take me less time to update and since school is almost over for me that should help as well… Review to tell me what you think and stay tuned! ;-) (I just KNOW that as soon as I post this I'm going to find all the stupid mistakes that I've overlooked in the 20+ times I've re-read it…)_


	4. Chapter 4

The desert surrounding Edolas's proud capital looked strange in the moonlight; its sands were no longer the golden orange hue that characterized it throughout the kingdom. The light that was cast on it by Edolas' various moons had turned it into an eerie wasteland of milky white sand that rose to create giant dunes.

Jellal kept running through the ghostly landscape despite the increased burning in his legs. He gasped for breath and tried to push himself to go faster but he didn't think he'd be able to keep at it for much longer. He knew that one of the men was still running after him and had only turned around once to catch a glimpse of him. He could feel the man closing in on him but still he kept running, climbing one of the dunes that peppered the desert landscape. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple and he wiped it away with the back of his hand just as he was nearing the top of the enormous sandy mountain. The other side of the dune was much steeper than the side he had climbed. He tried running along the top but stumbled and fell down the steep ridges of the dune, rolling to the bottom where he lay sprawled on his back. He couldn't get up.

He heard the sand shift and saw the man that had been chasing him enter his field of vision. The man looked exhausted as well but he grinned between pants as he looked down at him while propping himself up on his knees.

"Looks like it's the end for you, you little brat." He muttered.

Jellal tried to groan out a response but his throat was too dry. He didn't really know what he could do anyway, no help would come; there was no Erza to protect him now. Following that train of thought he couldn't help but feel concern for the girl but it was quickly masked by the direness of his own predicament. Still he hoped that she was alright, that help had come and that she had been taken care of already. The man righted himself.

"Come on, boy." The man taunted lifting his knife so that the moonlight glinted off the tip menacingly. "Shout out. One last time so that your last breath echoes off the sand; a fitting end for royal trash."

Jellal refused to submit to the man's taunting and kept quiet, much to the man's displeasure. He neared Jellal and aimed a kick to his side. Jellal hissed but remained quiet. The man kicked again, still to no effect. This time the man aimed a stronger kick to his ribs, Jellal heard a loud crack as pain shot through his side and he yelled out in pain. His voice echoed in the night but no other sound could be heard. The man smiled as he stood up, tossing his knife into the air and catching it a few times.

"That's more like it…" he muttered. "See? Not so bad, was it?" The man started laughing hysterically and Jellal couldn't help but wonder if running had deprived the man's brain of so much oxygen that he had gone completely insane or if he was already like that from the beginning.

"This is the end of the Mystogan family!" the man shouted lifting Jellal by the neck of his robes and aiming his knife at his chest. He lunged and Jellal closed his eyes, more out of exhaustion than actual fear. Before he could feel the stabbing pain of the knife sinking into his flesh he felt a solid body collide with the man sending him toppling to the ground and Jellal along with him.

Jellal rolled a few feet on the sand and ended up with his back to whatever it was that was happening, he could hear the fight that was taking place but he had reached his limit. He didn't dare look and it took all his will power not to cover his ears as well. He heard a low thunderous growling as well as a few blows being exchanged and then silence with a faint raspy gargling noise followed by a pair of footsteps nearing him; still he didn't dare turn around. He felt a pair of strong arms wrap around him and pick him up.

He turned to see a man with a distinctly cat-like appearance; or was it a cat with a human appearance? Jellal's vision was foggy and he couldn't really focus his eyes on anything for too long at the moment but he did manage to take in the man's general look. He was taller than most men Jellal could think of and with a very sleek, muscular build but the face was decidedly feline. His whole jaw line was more like a muzzle with its white fur differentiating it from the rest of his face with short whiskers sticking out of it. A triangular nose sat at the border between that same white fur and the black fur that covered the rest of his body and two round ears that would not have seemed out of place on a large feline sat at the top of his head.

"Are you alright?" the voice that spoke to him was deep, so deep that it felt almost as if it echoed in the desert night. He couldn't muster the energy to talk so he just nodded quietly.

He could detect no threat from this man and so he let himself relax. As the tension left his muscles a heavy sleep began to overpower him. He heard an amused grunt escape his savior.

"Come then, I'll take you to Extalia so that we can patch you up." Extalia? If he was being taken to Extalia then that meant…

"You're an exceed?" Jellal mumbled blearily trying to shake the sleep away and failing.

"That's right, my name is Pantherlily." The exceed answered.

"Jellal." he mumbled with the last of his strength…

Jellal thought back to that terrifying day in the peace and quiet of his study. Erza had come up to keep him company for a while as she took a break from her other duties and although he was supposed to be working his gaze had wandered over to the woman who was his most trusted friend and ally. He smiled at the similarities and differences between her six year old self and the nineteen year old who currently sat in front of him oblivious to his studious gaze. She was just as much of a spitfire as she was back when they had met, more refined and more concentrated perhaps, but that just made her all the more dangerous.

She sat in the comfortable armchair that he had ordered to be brought up to his study for just such instances where Erza chose to give him some moral support in his taxing duties. Her feet were propped up on a bench and she was leisurely checking a military report from one of the eastern borders of the kingdom. He personally found all the military jargon to be quite tiresome and it was a trait that she was well aware of since their childhood together and so he was always thankful to her when she helped lighten his workload by reading those military reports he loathed so much. She was dutifully skimming through it with a bored expression on her face; apparently nothing particularly interesting was taking place to the East.

Deciding that a break was in order he stood from his own much less comfortable seat and crossed the room to lean on the back of her armchair.

"Say, Erza?" she turned her head to look at him but said nothing. She blinked and he watched as she tried to get rid of the sleep that the file had set upon her.

"Do you ever think back?" he asked, curious to know if she ever got nostalgic like he had just been.

"About what?" she asked handing him the file and stretching to shake off the rest of her drowsiness. He could see the slender muscles in her arms and stomach clench and then relax.

"I don't know. Maybe about when we were kids?" he asked realizing that it wasn't very likely that she'd give him a straight answer.

"What were _you_ just thinking about that's making you ask all these questions all of a sudden?" she asked. It was strange how she knew him better than he sometimes cared to realize. She stared at him with a scarlet eyebrow quirked, waiting for him to speak up. He shrugged one shoulder.

"The day we met. All the stuff we went through that day." He muttered rubbing his temples as he dispelled the last ghostly images from his brain.

"Ah." She said, knowingly. He moved around to sit on the bench pushing her legs off it. She huffed but let him do as he pleased. He waited expectantly but she offered no further insight on the topic they were discussing.

"Well?" he persisted. "Don't you ever relive that day?" he asked.

"Sometimes." She admitted.

"So you do think back to when we were kids?" he asked. She seemed thoughtful for a moment.

"Sometimes-" she trailed off as she collected her thoughts. He was glad to see that she was going to be completely honest with him. "Sometimes you do or say things that remind me of back then." She said. "Sometimes it's almost creepy how similar you are to back then." He grinned internally at the way her thoughts mirrored his own.

"In fact," she continued and he perked up as he realized that she was, surprisingly enough, willing to share more information with him without him having to keep on badgering her. "It's funny you should mention this because I actually _was_ thinking back to that day myself." He was shocked by her little revelation. "It's strange how in the span of 24 hours you stopped being the prince of Edolas and became Jellal." She mused aloud. He smirked.

"And what's the difference between the prince of Edolas and Jellal." He asked in a teasing tone.

"The prince of Edolas was some nameless kid who smiled and waved when we crossed each other in the corridors. Jellal was, and still is, the annoying moron I spend most of my time with." She answered coolly making him pout.

"Not cool, Erza." He replied. She rolled her eyes and decided to humor him.

"But Jellal is also my friend and the one person I enjoying teaming up with in a fight." She continued. "Happy?" she asked dryly as she took the file she had been reading back from him and opened it to where she had left off.

"Very." He grinned victoriously, hoping to be able to rub it in for some time. Erza ignored him for a while but sensing his persistent gaze directed towards her she flipped through the files.

"Those reports aren't going to read themselves, _your majesty_." How she could make every single syllable of his title ooze such undiluted irony was beyond him but he sighed in defeat knowing that irony or no irony she was right.

And so it was her turn to smirk.

_AN:/ HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you, dear readers! I'm very proud to announce that my, so to say, "Christmas Presents" this year were chapter 264 and a strong batch of "writers-block-be-gone". I swear people, all those chapters for both my stories that I've had planned out but haven't been able to write are finally turning into words! A shout out to all of you guys (readers reviewers alerters and I can't think of anything else) because you're great and I swear I'm not drunk while writing this!_


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